Post of the Day
The week Australia failed on climate change [$]
Rick Morton
While Scott Morrison toured Trump’s America, the world’s top climate scientists fought it out over their latest warning of the coming disaster.
Today’s Celebration
Czech Statehood Day – Czech Republic
Pchum Ben Festival – Cambodia
Meskel – Ethiopia and Eritrea
Nuclear Industry Worker’s Day – Russia
Grandmother’s Day – Moldova
National Public Lands Day – USA
National Hunting and Fishing Day – USA
National Good Neighbor Day – USA
National Day of Awareness and Unity against Child Pornography – Philippines
International Right to Know Day
International Day for the Universal Access to Information
International Safe Abortion Day
Climate Change
‘What Greta said!’: Students march around the world in second wave of climate strikes
More climate strikes have been held in the Pacific, Asia, Europe and Africa.
The second wave of worldwide climate protests – in pictures
Hundreds of thousands of people around the world are taking part in the latest wave of climate strikes to demand urgent action on the emergency
Climate crisis: 6 million people join latest wave of global protests
Week of strikes and demonstrations is ‘only the beginning’, say organisers
Cyclone Greta shakes up the climate change debate [$]
Hundreds of thousands of young protesters on the streets. A Swedish teenager shaming the world’s elders for failing to act on climate change. A two-way blizzard of contempt played out on the internet.
Samantha Bee praises Greta Thunberg for shaming climate change deniers
“She’s just a girl, standing in front of a group of world leaders, asking them to do something before the whole planet melts and we all die,” quipped Full Frontal host.
UN calls for brave new world financial order to tackle climate change [$]
The UN has called for a global “green new deal” and overhaul of the world’s financial order to tackle climate change and deliver on its Agenda 2030 sustainable development goals.
As Trump retreats, financial markets push for sustainability, climate accountability
President Trump, speaking before the UN General Assembly Tuesday, vowed globalism is dead. A day later a roomful of suits representing some of the largest pension, mutual and hedge funds in the world offered a very different take.
Why Greta Thunberg triggers the troglodytes among us
Lauren Rosewarne
There’s a cruel and creepy world where it’s apparently perfectly fine for adults to shred a 16-year-old to pieces
How the culture warriors have lost the plot on Kyle and Greta
Julia Baird
This fortnight, one powerful bloke insulted the religion of more than two billion people on the planet, effectively calling the Virgin Mary a lying slut. And one small teenager sat in front of a crowd in New York, wrought with grief and anger, and called for immediate, expansive action on climate change to protect the earth for her, and future, generations. So guess which one was mercilessly trolled, denigrated and abused by our most prominent commentators? Yes, the teenager, Greta Thunberg.
Clear the air with some calm, rational discussion [$]
Chris Kenny
A speech’s quality is in the eyes and ears of the beholder. Even the pithy power of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address received mixed reviews, so that a century later some newspapers retracted their criticisms and recognised their misjudgments.
‘I gather nobody told Thunberg to respect her elders’ [$]
Basil Zempilas
Respect your elders. If I heard it once growing up, I heard it a thousand times but I gather nobody ever mentioned it to teenage activist Greta Thunberg.
Bully mammoths [$]
Saturday Paper editorial
In America, they’re already apologising. A spokesperson for Fox News said comments broadcast by the network were “disgraceful”. Earlier, a guest had called Greta Thunberg a “mentally ill Swedish child who is being exploited by her parents and by the international left”. In Australia, it doesn’t matter. The Murdoch press ridicules Thunberg’s age and mental health. They express anger at her for telling the truth.
National
Scott Morrison accused by oceans expert of missing ‘what this whole fight is about’
The international diplomat tasked with saving the world’s oceans says Australia has “missed what this whole fight is about”.
Scott Morrison’s UN speech was ‘colossal bulls**t’, says Climate Council chief
One of Australia’s key climate change organisations has slammed the federal government for putting lives at risk due to lack of meaningful climate action.
Commonwealth-managed fish stocks receive positive report card following independent assessment
Australian fish stocks are in good condition according to an independent assessment of the biological status of fish stocks managed jointly or solely by the Commonwealth across 22 fisheries.
Fact check: Scott Morrison’s UN speech about Australia’s environmental achievements – video
The Guardian’s brains trust breaks down the claims about Australia’s environmental achievements made by prime minister Scott Morrison during his UN General Assembly speech
Praise for statesman who avoided war and pressed the nuclear button
French citizens remember Jacques Chirac as a patriot and a statesman. In Australia many haven’t forgotten his nuclear tests in the Pacific.
The power of being a changemaker
Richard Glover
Forget Greta Thunberg, I am the world’s leading climate change campaigner. Well, since last Wednesday. That’s when we had the solar panels installed, linked to an app on my phone.
Corporate boards that pay lip service to climate change do so at their peril
Elizabeth Knight
The group of people most feared in Australia’s boardrooms today would have to be climate lobbyists.
Voice of Real Australia: When a ‘little’ island joins big global action
Stan Gorton
Climate strike action in some of Australia’s small country communities proves free speech is alive and well.
From pariah to green energy superpower [$]
Frank Jotzo
Creating a new large zero-emissions energy industry to replace fossil fuel exports could be Australia’s biggest long-term contribution to limiting climate change, writes.
The week Australia failed on climate change [$]
Rick Morton
While Scott Morrison toured Trump’s America, the world’s top climate scientists fought it out over their latest warning of the coming disaster.
Victoria
Stacey Christie wasn’t expecting this in a big city like Melbourne
Every day is a logistical challenge for Stacey who is often left behind at train stations. Public transport is one area which needs to improve to make the city more inclusive for people with a disability.
New South Wales
The future of Sydney: Adopting AI to move the city forward
As one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence entrepreneurs, Dr Catriona Wallace is urging Sydney to adopt AI infrastructure and the Internet of Things to prepare the city for the future.
Out-of-control bushfire threatens homes near Armidale [$]
A bushfire is threatening homes at Sandy Creek east of Armidale with the Rural Fire Service advising residents in the area to seek shelter as waterbombing aircraft help firefighters on the ground.
NSW fails to produce critical water plan on time [$]
The Commonwealth has stumped up an extra $7.9 million to help NSW regulate controversial “floodplain harvesting” after the state requested more time to get the job done.
Pressure on Gladys to ban plastic bags [$]
Labor’s environment spokeswoman says there are only two people standing in the way of banning single-use plastic bags from NSW — Gladys Berejiklian and John Barilaro — after a bill unexpectedly passed the state’s upper house on Thursday.
Outback oasis Copi Hollow remembered fondly as Menindee Lakes’ future looks uncertain
Water is precious in western New South Wales — not only as a source of survival, but as a source of joy and relief through punishing summers. Copi Hollow is one of those oases — a hub for boating, water skiing, and swimming for generations — where families flocked for reprieve from the heat.
NSW farmers’ class action on water
As water supplies remain perilously low across Australia’s drought-stricken east, a group of farmers is launching a $750 million class action against the Murray–Darling Basin Authority.
Western Sydney’s recycling innovation
Sussan Ley
Today I had the opportunity to visit two innovative and very different recycling businesses in western Sydney as the Morrison Government continues to work with industry leaders to reduce waste and create jobs by growing our recycling and remanufacturing capacity.
Drought solutions: We need to work together says mayor
Ken Keith
The prolonged drought has made life hard for those of us living in regional and rural areas. There are towns around New South Wales that have been predicted to run out of water as soon as the end of the year.
Telegraph editorial
Following the Millennium drought, NSW should have begun planning for the next inevitable water shortage. Construction of the odd new dam or two might have indicated a degree of forethought.
ACT
ACT’s ‘sentience’ laws impose tough new penalties for mistreating animals
The laws recognise that animals can feel and perceive the world around them and deserve to have a quality of life that “reflects their intrinsic value”.
ACT rural firefighters are gearing up for a hot and difficult bushfire season ahead.
Less than average district rainfall, and conditions which are hotter and drier than previous years are raising concern ahead of the official start to the bushfire season on October 1.
Queensland
State government misses climate change deadline: Conservationists
The plan to tackle climate change was expected in July; it’s now late September, and conservationists are getting frustrated.
Opposition questions govt climate ‘talkfests’ as green paper stalls
Opposition environment spokesman David Crisafulli questions the bona fides of the Palaszczuk government amid criticism over a delayed climate change green paper.
Brisbane climate protester sacrifices career to be full-time activist
A Queensland climate protester claims he has given up his nursing career to be a full-time activist
Adani sets up new infrastructure division [$]
India’s Adani has carved off its infrastructure business into a separate division as its Carmichael coal mine in north Queensland progresses towards operation.
Drought turns farmers against each other [$]
Once law-abiding farmers and families are now breaking the law in a bid to survive the drought — and it’s tearing communities apart.
False alarm: the great rainforest fire that wasn’t [$]
Greg Roberts
A frightening image. Pristine rainforest that has not burned for millions of years is ablaze as bushfires of unprecedented intensity roar through the hinterland of southeast Queensland. It’s difficult to imagine a more graphic illustration of the consequences of climate change. That is what was widely portrayed during the region’s fire emergency earlier this month. The only problem is, it didn’t happen.
South Australia
It’s official: Fishing for snapper will be banned in SA [$]
Anglers in South Australia will be banned from fishing for the iconic snapper for three years starting November 1 — except for a strictly controlled period each year. We reveal when and where.
Sustainability
The Green New Deal meets green republicanism
Does an empire of consumers have any hope of saving the planet?
Designing where we live and work even more important in unpredictable climate
Colin Odbert
The way buildings contribute to our wellbeing must increasingly become a focal point of design, as humans prepare to spend more and more time indoors.
While Indonesia burns, the people want to know Jokowi is listening
James Massola
Indonesian President Joko Widodo was re-elected with huge popular support. He is already wasting political capital and Indonesia is suffering as a result.
Train of thought: A fast way to solve infrastructure problems
Crispin Hull
This week I travelled at 300km/h on the very, very fast train from Madrid to Barcelona. It covered the 625 kilometres in three hours, an average of 208km/h. This included four or five stops on the way.
Nature Conservation
More than half of native European trees face extinction, warns study
Ash, elm and rowan among trees threatened by pests and pollution, says biodiversity report
One hundred dolphins die on African beach
Veterinarians from the Canary Islands are travelling to the Cape Verde islands off West Africa to investigate why more than 100 dolphins died on a beach.
Across Kenya’s wildlife-rich Laikipia Plateau, a thorny enemy is advancing. But a tiny sap-sucking insect may help save the region’s animals and people.
What are mass extinctions, and what causes them?
In the last 500 million years, life has had to recover from five catastrophic blows. Are humans dealing the planet a sixth?
Don’t let Trump pollute our lakes and streams
Robert Redford
The president has tried to weaken, delay or repeal safeguards that protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and our lands, wildlife and habitat.
Now for something completely different …
We only ever need one piece of entertainment at the Grand Final …
Warwick McFadyen
Only one piece of entertainment is needed. That is Mike Brady singing Up There Cazaly. Everything else must go. And when the day comes that Mike Brady departs the field to join the celestial choir, then a hologram of the man and his guitar must be produced.
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